Among the Dead at Alto
by Vol lady
Summary: On the way home from a business trip, Jarrod stumbles into influenza and a quarantine, and more.
1. Chapter 1

Among the Dead at Alto

Chapter 1

It was a nice day to be riding. The weather was cool, the sun bright, the air crisp with early spring. The winter hadn't been all that rough, but there was still snow up in the mountains and it made for a pretty sight. Jarrod had taken a long trip on horseback to a town called Mendota. He could have taken the train south and rented a mount to get to Mendota, but he told his family he wanted to take his time, relax a little bit, enjoy the long ride.

"You're crazy," Nick said as Jarrod loaded his bedroll and saddlebags onto his horse to leave. "Your rump is gonna be nothing but sore."

Jarrod laughed. "I've endured plenty of time on a horse, Nick. I'm looking forward to a little time not making my rump sore in an office chair."

"When should we expect you back?"

"Oh, a couple weeks at the most." Finished with his horse, he turned an offered his hand to his younger brother. "You can get along without me for that long."

Nick took his hand. "Just avoid trouble, all right?"

Jarrod had to admit, he'd ended up in trouble more than once out there on his own, and once or twice his brothers had to come bail him out, but, "More often than not, I'm fine, so just quit worrying. I'll see you by the end of next week."

Jarrod mounted up and took off, with Nick scowling as he watched him go. Jarrod didn't need to look back to know the scowl was on Nick's face.

It had been a relaxing trip down, easy riding, a little over 100 miles from the Barkley ranch. He camped out in comfortable solitude at night and looked more like a saddle tramp than a business man when he showed up at the door of businessman/rancher Joe Emerson. He was there to strike a deal to sell him the Barkley family shares of a copper mine, and knowing how rough he looked and smelled Jarrod made sure to be wearing a big grin when Emerson's houseman opened the door. Jarrod had known these people for years, and while they were used to the lawyer in three-piece suits, it was no surprise that he'd show up in trail clothes. He had done it before.

"Hello, Mr. Barkley," the houseman said with a smile and opened the door wide to him.

Jarrod took off his hat as he entered. "Hello, Andrew, how are things?"

"Very good, Mr. Barkley. May I take your hat?"

Jarrod handed it to him as Joe Emerson came in from the parlor that was straight ahead. "I thought I smelled you arrive," Emerson said with a laugh and extended his hand. "You've been camping out on the way down, haven't you?"

Jarrod shook hands with the man. "Just took time for a little vacation, Joe. How are you?"

"Very good, very good. You'll spend the night and have a bath, won't you?"

Jarrod laughed. "In reverse order, I think. My things are with my horse, Andrew, and the paperwork we'll need is in the saddlebag. Would you bring it to me?"

Andrew nodded and went out.

"Come on in here, have a drink," Emerson said and showed Jarrod to the library, off to the left of the foyer.

In a few moments they were drinking scotch and chatting comfortably together. Emerson was a widower whose son was back east at college, so he was on his own here and relished any chance for company. Jarrod filled him in on all the doings in Stockton and with the family. Andrew brought Jarrod's saddlebag in as they talked and Jarrod fished out the envelope that held the agreements and the transfer papers for the deal they were about to complete. Emerson read the papers over, and they had signed everything within a few minutes. It was Emerson's turn to hand over an envelope, this one containing a bank draft. Jarrod took it and put it in his saddlebag, saying, "Thank you, Joe. I love a smooth transaction."

"I love copper mines," Emerson said.

They enjoyed their drinks. Emerson took Jarrod on a walk around the ranch compound and Andrew drew Jarrod a nice hot bath, with which he enjoyed a shave before dinner. After dinner, there were cigars and card games and brandy. "Pretty nice way to spend a day," Jarrod said. "Joe, I thank you."

"Can you stay another day?" Emerson said. "I have a pretty nice herd this year I wouldn't mind showing you."

"Oh, I wish I could," Jarrod said, "but I have a trial coming up in Stockton and plan to spend some solitary time on the trail getting it organized in my mind. I'd better be leaving in the morning. Thanks for your offer and the hospitality."

"When you get to the bank in Mendota tomorrow, talk to John Scharff. He'll get the money wired off to Stockton cleanly for you," Emerson said.

They bid each other good night and enjoyed breakfast together before Jarrod moved on to Mendota. The banking went as smoothly as the deal had gone. Jarrod talked to the banker Scharff and the money was wired off to Stockton within half an hour, along with Jarrod's wire to the family that the deed was done.

Then it was time to head home. Jarrod had decided he was going to take the long way, to relax some more but also to give him some quality thinking time about the trial coming up. It was still ten days away but it was a complicated one involving a business transaction between two local ranchers that hadn't gone as well as Jarrod's transaction with Emerson had just gone. Jarrod already had his plans together, but he also had his pad and pencil out as he rode easily along, jotting down thoughts in scribbled handwriting as the horse jolted back and forth. He camped out again at night, reading over his notes and straightening them out with a steadier hand. It was a pleasant and productive way to get home.

But before he knew it, Jarrod missed a planned turn and was taking a road he had never taken before, through towns he had never heard the names of. Porcelain. McComber. Still Oaks. He stopped in Still Oaks for a sandwich and a beer before moving on. The road post said a town called simply Alto was ahead ten miles. Jarrod knew he could be there in a couple hours. The post said Salida was only another ten miles beyond that, so Jarrod knew roughly where he was. Salida was only another day's ride from home. Jarrod checked his watch.

If he kept pushing, he might make it home midday tomorrow, but why push? There was no pressing business waiting for him other than that trial. He decided he'd continue to take his time, spend the night in Salida, and reach home by tomorrow evening, or not. The plan made him smile. An easy ride after an easy business trip, and his brothers hadn't had to come bail him out of anything.

Famous last thoughts.

As Jarrod neared Alto, he remembered that he had once had a client in San Francisco who had a small ranch near here. It had been several years and Jarrod struggled to remember the name, but when he saw the sign next to a side road, he remembered Zeb Barlow. Heavy set man, balding, about ten years older than Jarrod was. He lived most of his time in San Francisco where he was an importer, but kept this small spread as sort of a place to retreat to and to keep his family out of the city. Some cattle but not a lot, no other business, just a small cadre of men who kept the place going, and a wife and daughter who lived here full time. Jarrod had represented him in a contract dispute over some imported goods. Jarrod couldn't even remember what goods were involved but he remembered reaching a settlement with the shipper that made Barlow happy.

Jarrod hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should take a brief side trip to pay his respects to Zeb Barlow, wondering if the man would even be at the ranch. Jarrod had never met the wife and daughter. There might not be much of a welcome there if Barlow himself was not home. Jarrod decided to move on.

Until he suddenly heard something. The lane off to the ranch was surrounded by trees, so he couldn't see anything at first, but it sounded like heavy footsteps, running toward him. Jarrod straightened in the saddle and looked hard –

And there she came, running along the lane, a young girl maybe a couple years younger than Audra. She stopped short when she saw Jarrod, blurted out with startled wide eyes, looked terror-stricken for a moment and then fell over in the dirt.

Jarrod jumped from his horse and ran to her. "Miss? Miss, are you all right?" He turned her over gently into his arm.

She wasn't all right. She was covered in sweat, burning up with fever. Jarrod couldn't see any obvious injuries, but before he could really get a look, he heard horses coming toward him from the ranch.

Two men on horseback stopped as Jarrod looked up at them. They did not come close. They were armed but their guns were holstered. They both wore badges. One of them said, "Stay right there, Mister. Don't move."

Jarrod stood up despite the man's orders.

The man drew his pistol. "I said don't move, and I meant it."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Jarrod stood there, the girl at his feet in the dust. "This girl is sick. She needs help."

The two men looked at each other. The second man said to the first, "Well, at least now we know how we're going to get her back to the house."

The first man holstered his gun. "What's your name, Mister?" he asked.

"Jarrod Barkley," Jarrod said. "I was passing through on my way to Alto. What's going on here?"

"Pick her up, put her on your horse, and we'll take both of you back to the house," the man said.

Jarrod still didn't understand why deputies and guns were involved with a sick girl. "What's this about?" he asked.

"Let's just get her back to where she belongs," the man said. "The house isn't far. Put her on your horse and walk her."

Jarrod bent and took the girl into his arms. She weighed practically nothing. She groaned as he got her up into the saddle and then began walking his horse back the lane, in the direction she'd come from. The two deputies followed behind, at a distance.

Jarrod didn't ask any more questions as he walked, but he did keep wondering what was going on. The man was right – the house wasn't even half a mile away. The grounds were surrounded by a fence with a closed gate. All the men in sight were armed and on the outside of the fence, not a one on the side where the house was located. It looked like a prison, not like someone's home.

"What's going on around here?" Jarrod asked when two men pulled the gate open.

"Just take her on in there," the deputy who had done all the talking said. "Somebody will come out of the house to take her from you."

Jarrod did as he was told, but grew alarmed when they closed the gate behind him. He took the girl up to the house and tethered his horse at a hitching rail there. As he was lifting the girl out of the saddle, men suddenly appeared, one from a stable who took his horse and one from the front door of the house. The man coming out of the house wore a business suit, minus the jacket. He was an older man with a heavy moustache and gray hair, but he was quick and came down the steps to where Jarrod held the girl in his arms.

"Let's get her inside," the older man said. "I'm so sorry about this."

His apology was also alarming. "What's going on around here?" Jarrod asked as he carried the girl up the steps.

"You'll find out soon enough," the older man said and opened the front door.

Jarrod carried the girl in, and the older man followed. It was a fairly large ranch house with a big living room on the left, a big dining room on the right, and stairs leading up in front of him. Jarrod stopped dead just inside the door. His mouth fell open.

The place was full of mattresses and pillows on the floor. There had to be seven or eight men just lying around, moaning, or not moving. They were all obviously terribly ill. One woman was going from person to person, an older woman who stood up quickly when she saw Jarrod and hurried to him, crying, "Jenny!"

The woman hurried to the girl in Jarrod's arms, putting her hands to the girl's face.

The older man said, "Let's get her back upstairs."

Jarrod followed the woman up the stairs, and the older man followed him. In moments Jarrod was carrying the girl, Jenny, into a bedroom where the bed was already unmade, rumpled, slept in, even though it was only mid-afternoon. Jarrod put Jenny in the bed. The girl moaned. The woman covered her up.

Jarrod turned to the older man. "I want to know what's going on here. Who are you? You've got a lot of sick people here. Are you a doctor?"

The man nodded. "Alan Soper," he said. "I'm the doctor from Alto. And I'm sorry, but you're under quarantine now too."

"Quarantine?" Jarrod said. "Is that why this place looks like a prison?"

"It is one," Dr. Soper said. "All these people have influenza. It came in several days ago. The law from Salida has quarantined them all here to try to contain this, and I've been working with Mrs. Barlow to try to pull them through it."

Jarrod looked at the older woman. "You're Zeb Barlow's wife?"

The woman nodded. "This is our daughter, Jenny. Who are you? How do you know my husband?"

"I'm Jarrod Barkley," Jarrod said. "I'm a lawyer. I've represented your husband in the past. Is he here or is he in San Francisco?"

"He's here," Mrs. Barlow said, "but he's sick, too. He hasn't been coherent for the last 24 hours."

Jarrod sighed. He'd had influenza before and survived it, but it wasn't a pleasant experience and he did not relish going through it again. But he knew he was stuck.

"The law outside won't let you leave," Dr. Soper said. "I'm sorry, but you've been exposed. You're here with us for the duration."

Jarrod understood right away but didn't like it much. His comfortable, relaxing trip home was now right out the window. "Well, if nothing else, maybe I can help out around here," he said.

Jenny groaned, her mother went to her, and Dr. Soper explained, "The girl's been very feverish and flew into a panic. She ran out the door before anyone could stop her, and the deputies beyond the fence are afraid to touch anybody from this side of it. Where did you find her?"

"Out by the main road," Jarrod said. "I need to get a telegram off to my family. Will one of the deputies take care of it if I ask?"

Dr. Soper nodded. "They've been helpful, believe it or not. They just won't let anyone leave. I wasn't sure what they'd do about Jenny once she got out."

"They didn't touch her," Jarrod said. "They let me do it since I already had. Are you getting supplies and medicine?"

Dr. Soper nodded. "They leave things just inside the gate for us. We're getting help, but this has been a nightmare, as you can imagine."

"Are you ill?" Jarrod asked.

"I was, but I'm getting through it," Dr. Soper said. "So is Mrs. Barlow, but everyone else is having more trouble. We've already lost four men, and no one is well enough to bury them."

"Where are they?" Jarrod asked.

"We got a tent up out back and put the bodies in there, but they need to be buried."

"No one else is able-bodied?"

"No, not a soul."

Jarrod heaved a sigh. "I can get a start, at least. Let me go see if someone will wire my family for me and then I'll take care of my horse and start digging."

"You'll find a shovel in the shed next to the barn," Mrs. Barlow said. "The best place for you to dig is that big empty ground behind the barn, well behind it."

"I'm sorry you stumbled into this, but we're grateful for whatever help you can give us," Dr. Soper said.

Jarrod nodded. "Let me get to it."

Jarrod went back outside, drawing the attention of the men on the other side of the fence as he did. He approached the gate until the deputy who had stopped him at the road said, "That's far enough!"

Still about thirty feet away, Jarrod had to speak loudly. "I need someone to wire my family. The Barkley ranch in Stockton."

"What do you want to say?" the deputy asked.

Jarrod suddenly hesitated. Did he want to tell them he was in an influenza quarantine? That would probably send his mother and sister down here to help, and that was the last thing he wanted. But if he didn't say enough, Nick and Heath might be beating a path down here. Nick was expecting him to get into trouble as it was. He ended up saying, "Just say I'm delayed ten days. Sign it 'Jarrod.'" He wasn't at all sure that was going to work but if it didn't, he expected he'd get a telegram back pretty quickly.

"We'll do it when we change guards tonight," the deputy said.

"Thanks," Jarrod said and headed for the stable.

He found his horse already being tended to by a young man, who was brushing him down. The boy couldn't have been more than twenty and he didn't look all that healthy, either.

"Thanks," Jarrod said.

The boy turned a bit and nodded, but continued brushing.

"I can do that," Jarrod said. "You don't look like you feel all that well."

The boy turned and offered the brush. "Just trying to keep busy," he said. He was pale and sweaty.

Jarrod took the brush. "Maybe you ought to get into the house and let the doc look at you."

"Been there," the young man said listlessly. "I'll clean your saddle and tack up for you, too, but that can wait til later," he said and left the stable.

Jarrod watched him go, then turned to keep brushing his horse down, thinking _There I go in a few days_, and grumbling to himself.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Jarrod put the negative thoughts out of his mind. There wasn't much he could do about this situation but endure it. In the meantime, he could help out around here, and maybe by the time he got sick, many of the sick men here now would be well.

He wondered for a moment about the message he asked to have sent home. The family was not going to like it when they found out he'd been exposed to the influenza and didn't tell them. As used to his secrets as they were, they'd still give him hell over them, and he knew this one especially was going to get him a reaming out by his mother when she found out about it. IF she found out. Jarrod thought for a minute that he could keep them from ever finding out about this.

But then he thought about his brothers. A cryptic message like he was having sent was not going to satisfy them very much, but at least they would probably wire back before they came down here after him. What was he going to say when they asked why he was being delayed?

Jarrod's horse whinnied, as if he were reading his master's mind or felt his unease through the brush. Jarrod said, "It's a conundrum, isn't it, buddy? Here we were, having a lovely ride through the countryside with not a care in the world, and bang. Here we are now."

The horse nuzzled Jarrod on the side, and Jarrod realized what Jingo was really after. Jarrod smiled, took the cube of sugar from his pocket and fed it to his old friend.

As soon as he was finished grooming his horse, Jarrod went looking for a feed bag and some oats, if there were any here. He found some pretty quickly and brought them to the horse, who started gobbling things down even before Jarrod found the place where the brushes were kept so he could return them. Jarrod fetched a bucket of water from the trough outside and brought it in. By the time he put it on the ground in front of his mount, Jingo was finished with the feed. Jarrod removed the bag and hung it back up. He gave his horse a pat on the neck as the horse drank. "There you go. You're all set for a while anyway. I have to go dig some graves."

Jarrod made his way outside and to the shed where he was told the shovels were kept. He found a good one and made his way to the tent where the doctor said the four bodies were. He thought he'd have a look before he found the burial spot, and he went inside. Slowly, reverently. Death was never something to be less than respectful about.

He stopped, right inside the door. He saw it right away. There were bodies shrouded and laid out on blankets on the ground, but not four of them. Five.

At first he thought the doctor had just counted wrong. Jarrod sighed, wondering if he had the stamina to dig five graves tonight and knowing he really didn't. He'd have to do what he could and finish up tomorrow. He didn't like leaving bodies exposed all night, but from the looks and the smell of them, most had already been here for a while. The stench was overwhelming, and Jarrod pulled out a bandana and tied it across his mouth and nose. Otherwise, he'd never be able to get through this.

He took his jacket off and pulled his gloves out from where they rested under his belt, preparing to put them on, but then he took a closer look at the bodies, deciding which had been decomposing the longest and ought to be buried first. That was when he got the big shock, the one he wasn't expecting at all.

Four of the men looked drawn, like they had lost weight, like they had been sick for some time before they died. Jarrod didn't think he'd even have much trouble lifting them and carrying them to their graves, as long as he himself was still well. But that fifth body –

It was the body of a man who was tall and fit and hadn't lost weight. He just didn't look as out and out sick as the other four. But the big difference was around the nose and mouth. The man had been bleeding from the nose, and there was dried blood there and around his mouth. The other men did not have the dried blood. These were not normal symptoms of influenza.

Jarrod straightened up, and his mind whirled. What the heck was going on here? He left the shovel there and hurried back to the house. He found the doctor in the living room, tending one of the sick men on the floor while Mrs. Barlow was in the dining room, doing the same. He called quietly to both of them and got them just inside the front door.

"Didn't you say you had four men dead in that tent?" Jarrod asked, very quietly.

"Yes, four," the doctor said. "Why?"

"Because now you have five, and that fifth one doesn't look like he died from influenza."

"What are you saying?" Mrs. Barlow asked.

"I'm saying you both need to come with me and see this man," Jarrod said. "He looks like he's been poisoned."

They went out to the tent together, and Dr. Soper found the odd man out right away. He bent over him, looked closer, opened his eyes and looked into them, then gave a large unhappy sigh as he straightened up. "You're right," he said. "This doesn't look like influenza. I'd bet money he's been poisoned."

"Do you know who he is, Mrs. Barlow?" Jarrod asked.

She nodded sadly. "Our foreman, Dave Keener."

"He hasn't been here long," Dr. Soper said. "We had four men in here this morning, not five, and not this man."

"When did you last see this man?" Jarrod asked.

Mrs. Barlow said, "I don't know. I've had my head spinning around so much – yesterday maybe, not today."

"Who around here would want to kill him?" Jarrod asked.

Mrs. Barlow ran a weary hand through her hair. "I don't know. I don't even know what day it is."

She started to sob. Jarrod reached for her hand and squeezed it. "Nevermind. It's enough to know he wasn't here this morning. Whoever killed him isn't going anywhere."

"Are you sure someone killed him?" she asked. "He didn't kill himself?"

Jarrod immediately remembered a couple of poisoning cases he'd seen through the years and shook his head. "This looks like rat poison. You don't kill yourself with rat poison. You shoot yourself in the head, quick and painless. You don't put yourself through this."

Dr. Soper sighed again. "It's going to be a while before the sheriff can look into this."

"I can look into it in the meantime," Jarrod said. When his two companions looked doubtful, he said, "I'm a lawyer. I've been district attorney in Stockton a couple times. I know how to look into a murder, and this is a murder."

Mrs. Barlow groaned. "As if we didn't have enough around here – "

Jarrod said, "Somebody has probably taken advantage of the situation, thinking we wouldn't notice this wasn't from influenza."

"They had to have noticed," Dr. Soper said. "They'd know we've been keeping track of the dead."

"Murderers don't always make a lot of sense, or whoever killed him thought we didn't have time or were well enough to worry with this," Jarrod said. "Look, we need to keep this to ourselves. Whoever killed Keener needs to keep believing that we think it was influenza."

Dr. Soper and Mrs. Barlow both nodded.

Jarrod said, "Why don't you both go back into the house? I'll try to see these men are buried as soon as I can. Is there anyone around who is strong enough to help me?"

Dr. Soper shook his head. "Everybody either has the influenza or is still recovering from it. That's why I find it hard to believe somebody killed this man and hauled him in here. I don't know who would have had the strength."

"Somebody could be faking. I'll find out what I can," Jarrod said. "But first, I'd better dig some graves while I still can."

So Jarrod took the shovel out to the land behind the barn, got rid of his shirt and began digging. The earth was soft here, and soft pretty far down. It still took Jarrod a long time to dig a grave.

He thought a lot about what was happening and it made his head spin. He hoped it wasn't from influenza setting in already. He hoped it was just from the suddenness of all this, the abrupt way everything had changed just hours ago, and the insanity of a murder actually being committed in the middle of all this sickness. Jarrod was used to things happening suddenly – practically every murder did, after all – but the confluence of all this, so fast, and now trying to figure out how to investigate it all to boot -

He had to put it away. He had to keep digging and stop thinking.

He had finished burying one man who had died of influenza, then started on another before he lost the light. He fetched a lantern and kept going until he had buried a second man, but then he was out of energy, and Mrs. Barlow had come out.

"Mr. Barkley, you need to eat something," she said.

Jarrod nodded. "I know. I'm through for tonight. I'll finish up in the morning."

Jarrod knew the influenza could come rolling over him any time. When it came, influenza came fast and hit hard. He was exhausted, but he knew he had to get up early and finish burying these men – and he hoped no more would die overnight but knew they might. He also knew he couldn't start looking into this murder until he had finished with the burying.

He had given the murder a lot of thought, though, despite trying not to. The main thing he knew was that this foreman, Keener, had to have been killed by someone who was still up and walking around. The men in the house were too sick to be behind it. The man who had done it had to be in pretty good shape, too, to have carried Keener into the tent. And somebody had to have seen something. Maybe even one of the men guarding the place from outside the fence had seen something. Jarrod knew he had to finish the graves in the morning in time to ask a lot of questions before the influenza laid him low, too.

Dr. Soper and Mrs. Barlow were in the kitchen and food was ready when Jarrod came in. Jarrod quickly cleaned up before Mrs. Barlow poured him some coffee. He sat down and filled his plate. He didn't know until now that he was ravenous.

"I've been thinking," Mrs. Barlow said, "trying to think of who might have killed Dave."

"Have you come up with anything?" Jarrod asked.

"A few of the men around here didn't get along with him," she said. "He was a tough boss, surly, didn't brook a lot of drinking even off the job or anything like that."

"Are any of the men who didn't like him up and around outside?" Jarrod asked.

"One or two. I'll point them out to you in the morning."

"Mr. Barlow is awake now, recovering," Dr. Soper said. "You might be able to talk to him for a little while tonight."

"I'll try," Jarrod said. Then he asked, "How is Jenny?" He hadn't asked about her since he brought her in.

"Still too feverish to know what's going on," Dr. Soper said.

Jarrod looked Mrs. Barlow's way. She looked terrified.

Dr. Soper said, "But she's young and strong. She might be much better tomorrow."

"How are the two of you doing?" Jarrod asked.

"We're both on the mend," Dr. Soper said. "You're a bigger question mark now. You could be very sick this time tomorrow."

"I know," Jarrod said. "I've had influenza before, and a couple bouts of pneumonia when I was a kid."

"Then you know the influenza can be particularly bad for you."

Jarrod nodded. "I know, but I did well when I had it before. I'll be all right."

After they ate, Mrs. Barlow took Jarrod upstairs to where her husband lay in bed. He was awake, but still looked feverish. When Jarrod walked over to him, Barlow looked at him as if he should know him but couldn't quite place him.

"Zeb, do you remember Mr. Barkley?" Mrs. Barlow asked. "He was your lawyer once."

Jarrod smiled, and so did Barlow as the recognition came over him. "By golly," the man said weakly. "You're about the last person I expected to see tonight."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"I didn't expect to be here," Jarrod said when Barlow said he didn't expect to see him.

"Jenny tried to run away," Mrs. Barlow said. "Mr. Barkley brought her back."

"Thank you, Mr. Barkley," Barlow said.

"Aw, now, come on, you know me well enough to call me Jarrod," Jarrod said, "and by now, so do you, Mrs. Barlow."

"Then it's Zeb and Barbara," Mrs. Barlow said.

"You know you've dumped yourself into a big pile of trouble," Barlow said.

"I know," Jarrod said, "but I'm in it now, so it'll have to be. Zeb – do you know your foreman's been murdered?"

Barlow nodded. "Barbara told me. But you don't know who."

"Not yet, but I'm going to look into it tomorrow," Jarrod said. "Barbara says there's a couple men it could be who are still up and around."

Barlow nodded. "Shields and Morrow. We think you better talk to them first. Barbara will point them out to you in the morning."

Jarrod said, "We need to keep this murder talk to ourselves. I don't want whoever killed him to know that we know it wasn't the influenza that did it. I can dance around the facts when I talk to the men – they'll think we're just surprised Keener died without the doc knowing he was sick. And I still have a couple men to bury, too. And I'm hoping we don't lose any more tonight."

"Losing five is hard enough," Barlow said. "You pace yourself, Jarrod. We don't want to lose you."

"I've had the influenza before," Jarrod said. "Don't worry about me."

"You're a guest who never wanted to be here," Barlow said. "And one fine lawyer. I'd hate for you to go down in this sickness on my land."

"Well, I expect I'm going to go down, but I don't plan to stay down," Jarrod said with a smile. "You just rest and get well so you can be up and around soon."

"That's my plan too," Barlow said.

XXXXXX

They gave Jarrod the guest room, and he fell asleep so fast he didn't have time to think about anything. When the sun came up and birds started to sing outside the window, he woke up – and ached like crazy all over. He struggled to sit up and took stock.

No sore throat. No fever yet. Just a lot of aching, and that could be because of all the digging and carrying bodies he did last night. He got up. He was still tired, but steady.

He dressed quickly and was downstairs as fast as he could go, without even shaving. Dr. Soper and Mrs. Barlow were already up. Mrs. Barlow was cooking eggs and bacon. They both looked stronger this morning.

"I'm feeling better," Mrs. Barlow said. "How many eggs, Jarrod?"

"Three," Jarrod said, "scramble them fast. I want to get out there and finish burying the men. Did we lose anyone else last night?"

"No," Dr. Soper said happily. "I think we're through the worst. The men who are still down will probably improve through the day, so all we have to worry about is you."

Jarrod accepted a cup of coffee from Mrs. Barlow. "I'm still hale and hearty. I want to get out there and finish burying those men before I'm not anymore. Doc, I'm going to bury Keener too. You've seen him. You'd be able to testify his death looks like poisoning, so with your permission, I'm going to put him in the ground."

Dr. Soper nodded. "Go ahead. But do you think we ought to tell the deputies outside about this?"

"At some point, of course," Jarrod said. "But let me finish the burials and start asking some questions first. I want to have some answers to give the law and not just questions."

Jarrod ate in a hurry and was surprised when he got outside that there were three men waiting at the tent where the remaining bodies lay, each one with a shovel. "We're doing better," one of them, the boy who had helped Jarrod with his horse when he came in the day before, said. "We can help you bury these boys."

Jarrod nodded his thanks. "What are your names?"

"I'm Hill," the young man said. "This is Deutsch and this is Shields."

Shields. Jarrod remembered, he was one of the names Barlow said hated Keener. Jarrod nodded again. "Go on out back and dig three more graves. We didn't lose anybody else during the night."

As the three young men headed out to the burial ground behind the barn, Jarrod took a quick look at the bodies inside the tent, especially at Keener. He and the others looked exactly as they had the day before. Jarrod had some concern that somebody might have tampered with Keener, cleaning him up or something, but no one had.

Jarrod went to the shed to fetch a shovel, and while he was there he noticed a shelf full of cans and bottles – and there was a can of rat poison. Jarrod wasn't surprised. He picked it up. It was not heavy. He opened it and saw that it was almost empty. He knew this was where the poison that killed Keener had come from, but what he wondered was how anyone had managed to kill him this fast. It had to started yesterday, or the day before at the earliest. It would have taken a lot of poison to put a man down that fast, and however he ingested it, he'd have noticed the very bitter taste. Questions….

Jarrod put the poison back as he'd found it, grabbed a shovel and headed for the burial ground. Shields was digging one grave on his own while the two other men, looking a bit weaker, worked on a grave together. Jarrod began to dig the third.

Jarrod began to chat a bit, although no one joined in. Finally, Jarrod got to a question he wanted to hear some answer to. "Do any of you boys know why Keener didn't come into the house to see the doctor? It looks like he just up and died without coming for help."

Hill shrugged. "He'd been sick the past couple days but not bad, and he seemed all right yesterday morning. I guess he just thought he was getting over it, but then it hit him fast. You know how influenza can do that."

"Yes, I do," Jarrod said. "Do you know who found him?"

"I did," Shields admitted. "Me and a guy named Morrow, after lunch. He was starting to feel sicker after he ate and even threw up. He went to lie down and later we found him dead in his bunk."

Morrow was the other name Barlow had mentioned as one who hated Keener. "Why didn't you tell the doctor after you found him?" Jarrod asked.

"We was about to, but that was when Jenny took off and things got kinda crazy. So we just took him to the tent and figured we'd tell the doc later, but you came along and brought her back and – I guess we just didn't do it."

Jarrod was sorry, in a way, that the explanation was so plausible. But he spotted the three men giving each other a funny look, a look that said they wondered if Jarrod was buying this. Jarrod knew that look well. He'd seen it in many a defendant who was trying to hide something.

And something dawned on Jarrod. It wasn't just one man who had murdered Keener. These three, at least, were in on it, and maybe more were. That was why nobody heard anything furtive going on. There wasn't anything furtive going on. Maybe every man in that bunkhouse was in on this.

"How many men work here?" Jarrod asked.

"Fifteen," Hill said. "Not counting Keener."

Jarrod calculated. There were at least seven men still sick in the house. Four dead. That left only four in the bunkhouse with Keener yesterday. It would be easy for four men to kill him and carry him to the tent without attracting any undo attention in a place under quarantine when almost all the people around were sick with influenza.

Jarrod gave a sigh and left it alone for now. The sun was beginning to make things hotter. He wanted to get the bodies into the ground.

He wondered for a moment if his family had gotten the telegram he had the deputy send the night before. He wondered what they were thinking.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

At about the time Jarrod was burying the dead and asking questions of the living outside Alto, in Stockton Nick and Heath were leaving the bank. They had come in to make sure the money Jarrod had wired from the deal in Mendota had arrived, and it had. They shifted it around between the various accounts the family members had, to be sure each Barkley got his or her share of the proceeds, and they came away with some to buy some supplies at the mercantile and the saddle shop. As they came out, they ran into Sheriff Madden on the street and bid him good morning.

"Morning, boys," the sheriff responded. "You're in early today."

"Need supplies," Nick said. "Jarrod closed a deal in Mendota and we have some more money in the bank so we'll pay off a few bills, too."

"Is he back yet?"

"No, still lollygagging," Nick said.

Heath chuckled. "Nick's jealous. He wanted to go on this trip, but Jarrod reminded him there were lots of legal documents involved."

"Mr. Barkley! Mr. Barkley!"

They heard the voice and saw one of the young men in town who ran errands come running their way, an envelope in his hand. He ran up and handed it to Nick.

"Got this late last night," the boy said.

Heath tipped him and he ran off as Nick opened the envelope and read. "From Jarrod. He says he's gonna be delayed about ten days. I wonder what that's all about."

"Where is he?" Heath asked.

"This came from Alto," Nick said.

The sheriff suddenly looked alarmed. "Alto?"

Nick and Heath looked up. Now they were alarmed. "Yeah, why?" Nick asked.

Sheriff Madden said, "I got a wire yesterday. They've got influenza in Alto. They're warning everybody to steer clear."

The word influenza sent Nick and Heath frowning. "You think Jarrod's sick?" Heath asked.

"It would be just like him not to tell us if he was," Nick grumbled. "Him and influenza, they don't get along. He had some pneumonia when he was a kid, and the last time he had influenza he had a pretty rough time of it. Fred, we really ought to go down there. Where is this Alto?"

Sheriff Madden shook his head. "About ten miles the other side of Salida. But I wired back and forth with them yesterday. They got the sick people quarantined and under heavy guard, trying to contain this thing. If Jarrod's sick, they're not gonna let you anywhere near him."

"We ought to at least wire him back, see if he'll tell us what's going on," Heath said.

Nick nodded. "Let's get over to the telegraph office."

"What are you gonna tell your Mother?" Sheriff Madden asked.

"Nothing yet," Nick said quickly. "If she finds out he's delayed and he's where there's influenza, she's gonna go flying down there, quarantine or no quarantine, and she and Audra are gonna both want to dive in and help out. We're telling her nothing."

"You're gonna pay for that when she finds out about it," Sheriff Madden said.

"Then we'll pay for it," Nick said, "but I'm not having her and Audra down there with the influenza too."

"Let's wire Jarrod back," Heath said again. "If we ask him point blank, is he caught up in this influenza, he'll tell us the truth."

"You have more faith in that than I do," Nick said, "but you're right. It's best we do that before we go jumping into anything."

As they started away, Sheriff Madden stopped them. "They're not gonna let you anywhere near that quarantine, Nick," he said again.

"Maybe not," Heath said. "But maybe we just need to be somewhere around, in case."

_In case of anything_, Nick thought. _Anything_. "Let's see what we get back if we wire him," Nick said. "Come on, Heath."

XXXXX

With them all working on the burial detail, burying Keener and the other two men took relatively little time, but it did take a lot out of all of them. Hill, Deutsch and Shields had still not recovered completely and headed back to the bunkhouse as soon as they were finished. Jarrod followed along, ostensibly to see to their welfare and that of the man they'd left behind there, Morrow. As soon as they went inside, the three men collapsed onto their bunks. Jarrod saw Morrow was still lying in his, but he sat up.

All the other bunks were stripped of their sheets and pillow cases. One bunk was missing its mattress.

"Why don't I make some coffee?" Jarrod offered and headed for the kitchen area.

He glanced at all the men, all except Morrow lying flat now. He turned his attention to the coffee, found the pot empty, found the coffee in a cabinet, and set about making more. He also found the sink full of dirty cups and plates. They hadn't cleaned up from breakfast, and from the looks of it they hadn't cleaned up much from yesterday, either.

Jarrod didn't think he'd find any evidence of where that rat poison that killed Keener was put to do the job, but assuming it was in the coffee, he took a good close look at all the cups. There was no residue in any of them that looked like rat poison to him, but just in case, he found clean coffee cups to use now. He quietly set the dirty ones aside and tried to plan how he was going to get them out of here without any of the men noticing. He wanted the doctor to have a look at them, to see if he could find anything.

He was saved from the effort. While the coffee was being brewed, Dr. Soper came in the door. He took one look around and said, "Sorry I missed seeing you boys yesterday. We had a bit too much excitement. I understand Keener died yesterday. How are things in here today?"

"Fine," Morrow said and lay back down. "We're just dandy."

Dr. Soper checked on each of them, feeling for fever. With each one he just said, "Better."

"Coffee, doctor?" Jarrod asked, and when the doctor looked up at him, Jarrod motioned him into the kitchen with a nod.

The doctor came in and Jarrod nodded toward the dirty coffee cups he had set aside on the counter. "From this morning?" Dr. Soper asked quietly.

"From yesterday too, I think," Jarrod said, just as quietly. "I couldn't tell, but check on them. See if there might be any evidence of any rat poison. There's also a mattress missing from one of the bunks."

"I saw that," Dr. Soper said as he went about checking the cups.

"If that was Keener's bunk, might it have blood on the mattress?"

"It probably does," Dr. Soper said, "but heaven only knows where it is now. Around here somewhere."

The coffee was ready, and Jarrod began to pour some. Before he could take any out to the men, the doctor lifted one dirty cup, looked at Jarrod, and nodded.

Dr. Soper faked it and headed for the door with the dirty cup, pretending it had coffee in it that he was drinking. "What happened to the mattress from that bunk?" he asked, pointing to the empty bunk.

"That was Keener's," Shields said. "After we found him dead in it, we got the mattress out of here."

"Where is it?" Dr. Soper asked.

Shields looked uncomfortable. "We took it way out back of the house, back where we burn the trash. We burned it right away, yesterday, when we burned the trash from the house. Sorry. We thought since he died in it, we best burn it."

Dr. Soper just nodded. "You boys take it easy for the rest of the day," he said as he headed out the door. "You don't need to be overworking."

"We got horses to tend," Morrow said.

"That's all right," Dr. Soper said and went out the door. "Just take it easy."

"Take care of mine, too, if you would," Jarrod asked.

Morrow nodded.

Jarrod was glad to see the doctor safely gone with the suspect coffee cup, but sorry to hear the mattress had been burned with the trash. He brought fresh cups of coffee out to the men, who all sat up on the edge of their bunks to drink. Jarrod said, "I'll wash up your dirty dishes for you. Looks like you haven't gotten to it for a day or two."

"Got too tired," Deutsch said.

They each began to drink coffee, not looking at him or at one another. Jarrod went back into the kitchen, washed and dried the dishes and put them away. About then, Morrow came in for some more coffee.

"Shields told me he and you found Keener dead yesterday," Jarrod said.

"Yeah," Morrow said, and that was all.

"I'm sorry he didn't come to the house for help," Jarrod said. "He might not have died."

"He was stubborn," Morrow said, and he went back to his bunk.

Jarrod was becoming more certain now that every one of these men was in on Keener's murder. Why, he wasn't sure. It was really unlikely all four men would kill a man just because he was a tough foreman. Jarrod asked from the kitchen, "Anybody else want more coffee?"

Nobody responded.

Jarrod went back into the room where the men sat on their bunks, carrying his own cup of coffee. He asked, "What kind of boss was Keener? Mrs. Barlow said he was tough."

"He was tough," Hill agreed.

"You're gonna need a new foreman," Jarrod said. "Is there anybody here who can do the job?"

"I reckon we ought to see who's left once this influenza is finished," Shields said. "I know I ain't planning to hang around."

"One quarantine is enough for me, too," Shields said.

Hill said, "I think we all might be ready to move on."

"That's not gonna make Mr. Barlow feel very good," Jarrod said.

Morrow said, "Probably not."

Jarrod saw Shields flash a look at Morrow. It wasn't much of an opening, but he took it anyway. "You didn't like Keener much?" Jarrod asked.

Morrow looked at Shields. Jarrod noticed everyone was looking at Morrow now. Morrow said, "Not much." And then he clammed up.

And Jarrod could tell everyone else was going to clam up, too. He finished his coffee and said, "Well, you boys take it easy for a while. Tend the horses later. You might feel up and at 'em again tomorrow if you do. You might change your minds about moving on once you feel better."

Jarrod took his cup back into the kitchen, cleaned it up, and then left the bunkhouse. He wondered what was being said in there as he closed the door behind him.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Mr. Barkley!" one of the guards – the deputy from yesterday – called to him as Jarrod headed across the yard after checking on his horse.

Jarrod walked toward the gate but stopped when the deputy held his hand up.

There was a nervous looking young man beside the deputy. The deputy called, "Got a wire from your family. They know about the influenza here. They want to know if you're sick."

"Tell them no," Jarrod said, quickly. Right now it would still be the truth. He didn't know about this afternoon or tomorrow.

Then Jarrod wondered if he ought to be letting the law know about the murder here yet. He decided against it again, at least for now. He'd want to discuss the whole thing with the doctor and the Barlows first, and he still wanted to figure out why Keener had been killed. Four men don't kill a foreman for simple reasons. Something else had to be going on here.

The deputy asked, "Do you want me to tell them you're in quarantine?"

Jarrod thought about it. He could picture his whole family come running if he told them he was, but at the same time, they could probably figure it out from his delay, since they knew about the influenza. Still, he didn't want to say it out loud. "No," he said. "Just tell them I'm not sick and I'll be home as soon as I can."

The deputy waved a hand and sent the nervous young man away. Jarrod figured he had to be a runner for the telegrapher. He was glad to see the boy go. He had no idea if the family was going to believe he wasn't sick and wasn't in quarantine, but for now the decision on what to tell them was made. Jarrod headed back into the house.

He was aching more now than he had been earlier, but so far his throat was not sore and he was not feeling warm. He decided he had to keep figuring this murder out while he still could. He found Dr. Soper in the kitchen. Dr. Soper immediately said, "I put that cup aside, in a paper sack in my medical bag for now."

"It had rat poison residue?" Jarrod asked.

"It looks somebody tried washing it but yes, it looks like it has some kind of residue. I'll know more when I can get a better look in town. What I can't figure out is how somebody got enough rat poison in him to kill him without him tasting it."

"I'm wondering that too, but Keener was sick too, wasn't he?"

"It appears so."

"Maybe he just thought his sense of taste was off from being sick. Maybe it didn't take a lot of poison to kill him. I don't know, but we'll find out."

Dr. Soper gave him a critical look. "How are you feeling?"

"A little achy, but that's all," Jarrod said. "That could just be from digging graves. If I'm going to get this, when do you think it'll hit?"

"This evening, maybe tomorrow or the next day," Dr. Soper said. "It won't give you much warning when it does."

Jarrod nodded. "I remember from the last time I had it. How's Zeb Barlow today?"

"Coming along. I wish I could say Jenny was."

Jarrod frowned. "She's still very ill?"

"Still unconscious," Dr. Soper said. "I'm gonna have a closer look at her after lunch if she hasn't come around. Maybe she hurt herself when she ran off and we just haven't paid attention to it."

Jarrod suddenly wondered something, not sure why he did, but some alarm went off in his prosecutor's head. "You don't think her running off had anything to do with Keener being murdered, do you?"

"Well, now, I don't know," Dr. Soper said. "I doubt that there's anything about her condition that would shed any light on that, but maybe I'd better take a look at her before lunch, a good look. I'll talk to the Barlows about it first, get their permission."

"Try not to alarm them," Jarrod said. "Keep this thought about her running away having something to do with the murder out of it if you can."

"I can," Dr. Soper said. "I'll just tell them I'm concerned about her condition, which I am."

Jarrod thought, frowning. "I don't know why her situation should have anything to do with Keener, but it is awfully coincidental that she goes running off just about the time he's fed rat poison."

They looked at each other, wondering why they hadn't put this together before now. But then, they'd both been busy – the doctor doctoring, Jarrod burying. Dr. Soper sighed. "I'll go talk to Barbara and Zeb. You best get a little rest. I'll let you know what I find out as soon as I've had a better look at Jenny."

XXXXXXX

"Got a response," the runner said when he found Nick and Heath having a beer at Harry's saloon. He handed Nick the telegram, and Nick tipped him.

He opened the envelope and read. "Says he's not sick and he's not quarantined," Nick said.

"Do you believe him?" Heath asked.

"Not a bit," Nick said. "He wouldn't be delayed ten days down there if he wasn't forced into it."

"Maybe he's just helping out with the sick people," Heath offered.

"Either way, he's gonna get sick if he isn't already," Nick said. "We can get down there pretty quick, once we get the wagon home and get horses."

Nick put money on the table and started to get up. "What are you going to tell Mother?" Heath asked.

"I don't know yet," Nick said. "I'll start by showing her this and wing it after that. Come on."

They were home within an hour and Nick was showing Victoria Jarrod's latest telegram. Victoria looked very concerned, both with Jarrod being down there and Nick and Heath planning to go. She was thinking heavily. She said, "Audra and I need to go with you. We can help out."

"No," Nick said right away. "They don't need your help, and Jarrod doesn't need the worry. If we get there and he's gotten sick, he doesn't need to be worried about you too. Let me and Heath handle it."

"Not that I think you can't," Victoria said, "but if my son is sick, I should be with him."

"He's not sick, at least not yet," Heath said. "If we get down there and he's sick or he gets sick, we can always let you know, if it's bad. If it's not, there's no reason for you to come running down."

"They've had this influenza down there for a while," Nick said. "It's probably about run its course. Jarrod might not even get sick."

Victoria hesitated, looking back and forth between Nick and Heath. "Do you promise me you will let me know in detail how he is once you get down there?"

"I promise, as soon as we know what's what, we'll wire you," Nick said and put an arm around his mother. He kissed her forehead. "I know you're worried, but there may not be any reason at all to be. Heath and I will look into it and do whatever we need to do down there."

Victoria finally sighed and nodded. "All right. But don't ride down there. Take the afternoon train to Salida and ride from there and let me hear from you tonight. You should be able to be there by then."

Nick and Heath both nodded and headed upstairs to pack.

XXXXXXX

After talking with Dr. Soper, Jarrod went up to his room and fell asleep. And he slept for hours, totally unaware of what was going on, waking up only when the sun shifted and began to heat up his bedroom. He felt exhausted, even after sleeping, and he swallowed a terribly dry swallow. That hurt.

He sat up and was dizzy. He was covered with sweat. It wasn't the heat from the sun that woke him up. _Oh, no, not already_, he thought. But it had rolled over him while he was asleep. He was sick. He had the influenza.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Weak and sweating, Jarrod still dragged himself up and got some water. He started out to look for the doctor, to find the doctor coming in. The doctor took one look at him and physically steered him back to bed.

"I'm all right," Jarrod protested.

"You're feverish," Dr. Soper said and pushed him back to the bed. "You get out of those clothes and you stay down until I tell you you can get up."

Jarrod moaned, stripped his shirt, socks and pants off, and lay back in just his underwear. "What time is it?"

"Nearly four," the doctor said and checked his heart and breathing with his stethoscope. "I got worried about you sleeping so long. You haven't had anything to eat since breakfast."

"Starve a fever," Jarrod said. "I'm not hungry. Have you had another look at Jenny?"

Dr. Soper pulled up a chair and sat down, nodding. "I should have looked before. I was so tied up with all these sick people, it kept me from doing a thorough job."

"What is it?" Jarrod asked.

"That girl's been assaulted," Dr. Soper said, sadly. "Some man has had at her. That's probably why she took off running. She was scared out of her feverish mind."

Assaulted? Alarmed and awake now, Jarrod asked, "How badly is she hurt?"

"Bad enough," Dr. Soper said. "She's not awake yet."

Jarrod moaned. "Have you told her parents?"

"Yes, and they're fit to be tied."

Jarrod tried sitting up. "Can you tell if it was one man who assaulted her or more than one?"

Dr. Soper pushed him down again. "It looks like one man, a big man."

"Keener was a big man," Jarrod said.

"Is that what you're thinking? Keener?"

"Doc," Jarrod said, "I think it's possible those four men in the bunkhouse found out Keener had attacked Jenny and they killed him for it."

Incredulous, Dr. Soper asked, "Why would a foreman attack his boss's daughter? It makes no sense."

"It makes no sense that Zeb Barlow would hire a man like that for a foreman in the first place."

"Maybe one of them did it and Keener found out. One of them could have poisoned Keener and the others didn't know it."

Jarrod heaved a sigh. His head hurt and the fever was keeping him from thinking straight. "Doc, I'm sorry this ran over me so fast. I'm not gonna be as much help as I wanted to be."

"We'll keep looking at it," Dr. Soper said. "You just need to rest and recover. Concentrate on that."

"When do you think you can cut the men loose from this quarantine?"

"With you getting sick, we're all going to be here for a while longer."

"Unless somebody makes a run for it and gets away," Jarrod said. "Let's assume they're not gonna get away with that for now, what with all the guards outside the gate. There's still time for me to talk to them and get the truth out of them."

"Not today," Dr. Soper said. "You're gonna stay here in bed, probably for tomorrow, too."

"Doc, I have to talk to them," Jarrod said.

"This disease is a killer, Jarrod," Dr. Soper said. "It's not gonna do anybody any good if you die trying to talk to them. You're gonna stay in bed. This came on you fast. Maybe you'll get lucky and it'll go away fast, but I won't allow you to take any chances. You're staying right here until I say you can get up and around."

"Can you bring them to me?" Jarrod asked.

"No!" Dr. Soper said. "I'll sedate you if I have to, but you're going to rest. We'll see how you are in 24 hours."

Jarrod groaned. "In that case, you'd better alert the guards about all this. That one deputy, the one who looks like he's in charge – try to talk to him privately and see if you can get him to understand what's going on and they need to watch for somebody making a run for it."

"All right," the doctor said.

The long sentence seemed to wear Jarrod out. He sank back and closed his eyes. "Can you get me a robe or something to cover up with when I get up?"

Dr. Soper said, "I'll find you a robe, but you're not gonna get up. I'm gonna get you some broth and you're going to eat it and sleep some more."

Jarrod nodded. He knew Dr. Soper was right, and he was feeling hotter and weaker by the minute anyway. He couldn't even sit up anymore. _Damn_, he thought.

XXXXXX

Nick and Heath caught the afternoon train to Salida, rented horses and were in Alto in by the time the sun went down at about seven. The first place they went was the sheriff's office, and as luck would have it, the deputy who had been in charge of the guard at the Barlow place – the deputy Jarrod had been talking to and had Dr. Soper talk to – was just coming in from the guard change. The sheriff and the deputy both looked up at the newcomers, both alarmed at strangers in town when word had gone out for people to stay away.

"Who are you? Don't you men know we have influenza here?" the sheriff asked.

"Our name is Barkley," Nick said. "We're looking for our brother, Jarrod Barkley."

When the deputy looked forlorn, they got the message.

"He's in quarantine?" Heath asked.

The deputy nodded. "He came down with the influenza this afternoon," he said. "We got quarantine set up at a ranch outside of town. You won't be able to see him."

Nick and Heath looked at each other, sighing. "Can we get word to him we're here?" Nick asked.

"I'm not sure he's gonna like that," Heath said.

"He'll swallow it if we tell him we came so Mother and Audra wouldn't," Nick said, and explained, "Audra is our sister. Can we get a message to him?"

The deputy and the sheriff looked at each other. "We can let you go out there but you won't be able to get past the guard into the quarantine area. The doctor is out there. He can pass on a message for you, but you have to abide by everything he says, and you cannot go into the quarantine area, or I will put you in quarantine for a minimum of ten days. And then I'll lock you up for another twenty for disobeying my orders."

Nick and Heath both nodded. "We get the picture, sheriff," Heath said.

The deputy looked at the sheriff with a question in his eyes. The sheriff nodded and said, "There's something else you need to know."

The sheriff took a deep breath, but looked at the deputy to do the talking. The deputy said, "The doctor talked to me this afternoon, after your brother went down. Your brother and the doc found a murder victim among the dead from the influenza."

Nick and Heath literally rose up. "Murder?" Nick asked.

The deputy nodded. "One of their dead showed signs of rat poisoning, not influenza. Your brother was looking into it when he went down. I understand your brother's a lawyer, used to be a prosecutor."

Nick nodded. Heath said, "If he was looking into it, we gotta find a way of talking to him. Maybe we can help."

"I don't think you'll be able to talk to him, but maybe you can talk to the doc over the fence. Just make sure you don't get too close. We're getting grip on this thing and we can't keep having people come down with it."

Nick and Heath both knew the deputy was right about that. "We'll be careful," Nick said. "Point us in the right direction, will you? Where is this place where you have our brother?"

The deputy said, "I'll take you out there. The ranch is owned by a man named Barlow. It won't take us long to get there."

"Then let's get at it," Nick said.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The moon was bright, and that lit up the fence surrounding the Barlow house and yard. It also lit up the men patrolling like prison guards, leaving Nick and Heath uncomfortable if not alarmed. They dismounted when the deputy did. Two men at the gate stood ready, watching the new arrivals.

"Doc!" the deputy yelled loudly. "Doc Soper!"

The doctor came out of the house fairly quickly. He was tired and longed for his own bed, but he saw the newcomers in the moonlight and came to the fence, stopping at the place he'd become accustomed to stopping at.

"Doc, these two are brothers to that Barkley fella you have in there," the deputy said, and then with a hand he invited Nick and Heath to do the talking.

"How's our brother?" Nick asked.

"Resting," Dr. Soper said. "He's all right for now."

"We know we can't see him," Heath said, "but can you get a message to him, tell him we're here? Tell him our mother and sister are _not_ here. That's gonna make a difference to him."

Dr. Soper took a deep breath. "You wait here. I'll go see if he's awake, but I won't wake him up if he isn't. He's done a lot of work since he came in here yesterday, and that may be why he went down so fast today."

"Doc, you need to know something," Nick said.

Dr. Soper had turned to leave, but turned back.

"Jarrod had a couple bouts of pneumonia when he was a kid," Nick said.

Dr. Soper nodded. "He told me, and he's had influenza before. Try not to worry about it. He's a strong man. Don't go planning the funeral yet."

Nick and Heath looked at each other, worried anyway, as Dr. Soper went back into the house. He went straight up to the room where Jarrod was, and found him surprisingly awake, although lying still and covered with sweat.

"Jarrod, your brothers are here," Dr. Soper said.

Jarrod looked at him. "I heard the yelling," he said quietly.

"They wanted you to know your mother and sister are not with them."

Jarrod breathed easier and nodded.

"They won't be allowed in here," Dr. Soper said, "but I can take messages back and forth for you."

Jarrod shook his head. "Just one. Tell them I want them to go into town and find out everything they can about Dave Keener and anybody else who works out here. I especially want to know if anybody has any history of abusing women in any way, any woman." Saying that much exhausted him, but he swallowed at his sore throat again and said, "Tell them to come back tomorrow and let me know."

"Shall I thank them for coming for you?"

Jarrod smiled a little. "They wouldn't believe you if you did. They know I'm gonna hit them both in the head when I see them again."

Dr. Soper smiled. "I'll tell them."

And he went back outside and told them everything Jarrod had said. The last made them smile. Jarrod couldn't be too miserable if he was talking about whacking his brothers upside the head.

Nick said, "Tell him we'll check into everything we can."

As he and Heath mounted up to ride back to town with the deputy, Heath said, "We better wire Mother right away and tell her the truth."

"She and Audra might come down here," Nick said.

"Not if we tell her Jarrod's gonna slug us for coming," Heath said. "Not if we tell her he's still ornery and tell her she won't be able to see him anyway."

Nick grunted. "That might work. I guess we'll see, but we better hop to asking about this Keener fella." Nick turned toward the deputy as they started to ride. "Do you know anything about this Keener?"

The deputy nodded. "The sheriff and I were talking about that when you rode in. We'll talk about it when we get back to town."

"You think he might be the one committed this murder?" Heath asked.

"No," the deputy said. "He's the one got murdered."

XXXXXXX

"Leave it to Jarrod to stumble into influenza _and_ a murder," Nick muttered as he and Heath left the telegraph office after sending a wire home.

They walked to the sheriff's office, Heath saying, "I wonder what Jarrod was able to find out before he went down."

"Enough keep him alert and ask more questions," Nick said. "I hope he's sensible enough to understand what we do find out. The last time he had influenza, we couldn't wake him up for a day and a half."

They went to the sheriff's office and immediately asked about Keener. The deputy was still with the sheriff, but it was the sheriff who did the talking. "I never arrested him, but I had a couple of the saloon girls complaining he'd roughed them up, and I think there were at least a couple more who wouldn't talk about him doing it to them. I would have locked him up, but nobody wanted to press charges. As for the other men who work out there – had a couple complaints about a couple different guys, but they weren't from women. The other ones tended to get accused of cheating at cards."

Nick and Heath looked at each other. There wasn't anything there to bring murder into the story.

The sheriff said, "This is a small town and I probably would have heard if there was more to it than this with Keener or the two women, but it could be there's more to be told. If I was you, I'd hit the saloons and do your asking. Tell them Keener is dead. That might loosen some lips. The girls he roughed up were pretty scared of him. I figured that was why they wouldn't press charges."

Nick and Heath both nodded. Heath said, "Sheriff, if anything else comes to mind or gets your attention, will you let us know? Our brother started this but he's pretty sick, and we're gonna have to pick up the slack for him."

The sheriff nodded. "If I've got a murder out there to deal with, I'll welcome all the help I can get. God knows I can't keep them all locked up forever."

Nick and Heath went out and straight to the nearest saloon. It was fairly lively for a town with influenza nearby, but everyone looked healthy and happy. The quarantine seemed to be doing its job.

The Barkley men got beers and hovered by the bar for a bit. It wasn't long before two of the saloon girls came up to them, with smiles Nick and Heath returned. "Surprised to see new faces in town," the girl who sidled up to Nick said. "Influenza doesn't scare you two, huh?"

"Our brother is quarantined out there," Nick said. "They won't let us see him, but we can yell messages out to him."

"Everybody in here looks fine and dandy," Heath said. "No sickness in town?"

"Not even a little so far," the other girls said. "Where are you boys from?"

"Stockton," Nick said. "I'm Nick, he's Heath."

"What's your brother doing in that quarantine?"

"Well, we're not sure how he got there, but he's there with the influenza, so we'll be sticking around until we can take him home."

"I hear they lost five men out there," the other girl said.

Nick and Heath looked at each other – and decided to dive right in. "Four to the influenza," Nick said. "One to murder."

Both girls straightened up and went wide-eyed. "Murder?" they both said.

"A man named Dave Keener," Heath said. "Did you know him?"

The two girls looked at one another. Something like suspicion was passing between them, and something like relief. The girl with Heath said, "Was he murdered out there?"

"Looks like it happened in the middle of the quarantine," Heath said. "Our brother was looking into it but he got sick, so he's asked us to do some asking around."

"Did you know this Dave Keener?" Nick repeated Heath's question.

"He's really dead?" the girl with Nick asked.

"He's really dead," Nick said.

The girls looked at each other again, and the girl with Nick said, "Let's go sit down at that table in the back."

They sat and talked for a long time, quietly so that no one else could hear. The sheriff was right about tongues loosening up once word of Keener's death came out. The girls became very open, very graphic, and when they left the saloon that night, Nick and Heath had gotten an earful. They went looking for the sheriff.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Nick and Heath found the sheriff locking his office up for the night. "We need to talk," Nick said quickly.

But the sheriff was tired. It was past eleven and he wanted his bed. He pointed down the street. "My home is two blocks away. Talk fast."

They walked, and Nick said, "We spent a couple hours with two saloon girls who knew Dave Keener too damned well. Each one of them said he had tried to attack them."

The sheriff stopped. "Rape?"

Nick nodded.

Heath said, "They were too ashamed to report it to you, too afraid of him coming after them again. I wouldn't go after them about it now, Sheriff, not with Keener dead. But that makes two more women than you already knew about who Keener got to."

"I won't go after them," the sheriff said, "and I understand why the girls wouldn't talk before now. Truth be told, getting a rape conviction around here when the victim is a saloon girl – it's just not gonna happen. The men on the jury are gonna assume they were just selling their wares."

"It's not just around here, Sheriff," Heath said.

"We asked about the other men who work out at the Barlow place, but the girls had no truck with them," Nick said. "None of them ever tried to hurt them."

"Keener was an ornery SOB," the sheriff said. "It sounds like we're well rid of him, but I gotta wonder why anybody would kill him now."

"Knowing our brother, he has an idea but he's just too sick to tell us," Nick said.

"We're going back out there in the morning, Sheriff," Heath said. "If he's well enough, we'll trade messages with him and maybe find out more about what's going on."

"I'll let my deputy handle it for now," the sheriff said as they were reaching the block he lived on, "but when that quarantine is about to be lifted, I'm gonna need to have more than I have before I can arrest anybody. Those boys stuck out there now might just scatter in the wind when they're free to go."

"We were thinking the same thing," Nick said. "We'll do what we can to help you."

"And I'd keep some faith in our brother if I were you," Heath said. "He might be sick, but Jarrod is one relentless man when he's got his nose to the ground. I'd bet you money he can find out a lot just using us and talking to the men he can talk to even while he's laid out flat."

The sheriff chuckled a little. "I'm getting the feeling his brothers are more of the same."

XXXXXXXXX

When Nick and Heath got back out to the Barlow ranch in the morning and Dr. Soper approached the fence, they noticed the man was more tired and drawn than he had appeared in the moonlight the night before. "How are you doing, Doc?" Heath asked right away.

"Rough night," Dr. Soper said. "Not so much with your brother. He's sleeping a lot. But I have a sick girl in here too, and she was restless and scared all night."

"Doc, can we talk a bit more privately – maybe over this way?"

The deputy was watching. "I'd like to hear what you have to say."

"Just you," Nick said. "You might not want a lot of this to get around, especially not around here."

The deputy directed them all away from the gate, to a spot where there were no guards within 50 feet or so. Dr. Soper stopped at a good distance beyond the fence and waited to hear what the Barkleys had to say.

"A couple of the saloon girls in town said Keener had tried to rape them," Nick said right away.

And Dr. Soper straightened up as if a jolt of electricity had just shot through him and woke him out of a deep sleep. "Rape," he said. He nodded to himself. He didn't want to tell even the deputy yet, that Jenny Barlow had been raped. Her parents were still distraught, and he wanted to talk to them and maybe even to her before he let the law in on her attack. "Did you find out anything about the other men who work here?" the doctor asked.

"They seem all right," Heath said. "Nobody's seen anything violent about them."

"Somebody obviously is violent," the deputy said, "unless you think Keener killed himself, Doc."

Dr. Soper shook his head. "He didn't kill himself. That I'm sure of."

"How's Jarrod looking today?" Heath asked. "You said he's sleeping a lot. Will he understand what we just told you?"

"I'll go see him now and see if he's awake," Dr. Soper said. "Is there anything else I can tell him?"

"Only that we're still here and still available to do whatever he wants us to," Heath said.

"This is a heck of a way to do a murder investigation," the deputy said. "Doc – how much longer do you think we're gonna have to keep up this quarantine?"

"Most everyone but Jenny and Jarrod are just about over the influenza," Dr. Soper said, "but I can't recommend lifting the quarantine until we're sure everybody's clear. That's gonna take a week or maybe even more, unless I - ." He stopped. He nearly said "unless I lose my last two patients," but he caught himself. That was too clinical a thing to say to the family of one of those patients.

"What do you need for them, Doc?" Nick asked.

"We're gonna need another supply of food," Dr. Soper said. "The chickens are still giving us plenty of eggs and there was a good store of bacon and ham, but we need beef – we don't have any cattle in the enclave here. God knows how the Barlow herd is doing."

"One of the neighbors has men looking after them," the deputy said.

Dr. Soper nodded. "Any fresh vegetables we can get we can use. And more clean linens. Now that some of the men are stronger, we can keep up with the laundry, but we're boiling the life out of the linen we have. We need more."

"Got enough water?" the deputy asked.

"The wells are holding up fine," Dr. Soper said. Then he gave a sigh. "Why don't you boys wait here? I'll go see if Jarrod is awake and if he has anything more he wants to tell you."

Dr. Soper turned and went back into the house. They were down to three men still laid out flat on the floor in the living room – all the others were back in the bunkhouse, recuperating. Mrs. Barlow was up and around in much better shape now, but tired from being up so often during the night with her daughter. She was sitting on the sofa. She looked up wearily. Dr. Soper gave her a smile, told her he was going to see about Jarrod, and went straight upstairs.

Jarrod was asleep. Dr. Soper checked his forehead, found he was still hot, and his breathing was ragged. Dr. Soper was leaving his stethoscope hanging around his neck these days, so he checked Jarrod's heartbeat and breathing, and as he did, Jarrod stirred and woke up.

Jarrod gave a little smile. "So, I'm still alive."

Dr. Soper smiled. "I'm sorry you're not feeling better, but yes, you're still alive."

"Has pneumonia set in yet?" Jarrod asked frankly.

"Lungs are clear," Dr. Soper said, "but you're not gonna feel any better today. Your fever is still up. Throat still sore?"

Jarrod nodded. "Have my brothers come yet?"

"They're here now," Dr. Soper said, and he told Jarrod what Nick and Heath had told him. "It looks like Keener is the man who attacked Jenny," he concluded.

Jarrod nodded. "Which means one of the four men who were still up and around when he was killed – one or more – are the ones who did the murdering."

"I think we'd better give those names to the deputy, Jarrod, and find out if anybody saw them carry Keener to the tent," Dr. Soper said. "I can't lift the quarantine and let anybody out yet, but the law at least needs to know who our suspects are, in case they run."

"Nobody ran last night?" Jarrod asked.

"No. They're all still here, and nobody died overnight either. Everybody's looking better, except for you and Jenny. What do you want me to tell your brothers?"

"Tell them I'm fighting the good fight – sickness and murder. Is Zeb Barlow up and around yet?"

"Sometime today, I expect, but he won't be doing a lot. Barbara is exhausted from last night."

Jarrod nodded. "I heard the commotion."

"Jenny had a bad night. Is there anything more I can tell your brothers?"

"Ask them to do whatever the law wants them to do," Jarrod said. "I plan to get a lot of rest today and be back on my feet tomorrow."

Dr. Soper said, "That may be wishful thinking. You're still not getting out of bed until I give you the okay."

"Of course not," Jarrod said.

And then all hell broke out again. They could both hear Jenny screaming, not in her room but out in the hall. Dr. Soper ran for it – and Jarrod got up, threw the robe on, and ran out too.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"No! No! No!" she screamed over and over again. Jenny had collapsed against the wall in the hall by the time Dr. Soper reached her. Barlow and Jarrod had both come out of their rooms, but Jarrod didn't make it beyond the door, where he fell against the frame, already out of breath.

Barlow came to his daughter, and he and the doctor got her to her feet.

She still screamed and cried, "No! No!"

Barlow took her into his arms. Jarrod's vision was blurry, but he could see Barlow was crying as he held his screaming daughter.

"Don't let him! Please, don't! Get away from me!" Jenny screamed and tried to push her father away.

"Jenny, it's me, it's Papa," Barlow said, trying to calm her.

It took another minute or so, but she calmed down and fell weak into his arms. But Barlow was not particularly strong yet either, and he couldn't carry her. Dr. Soper tried, but he was not a big man and couldn't lift her. He started to try to get her back to her room, him on one side, Barlow on the other, trying to keep her on her feet. But she fell.

Jarrod got himself together and joined them, helping to keep the girl upright while the three of them got her back to her room. In a moment, she was back in bed, still crying, still distraught, still lost in what was obviously the memory of her attack. Mrs. Barlow was upstairs with them now, too. Jenny's parents were both in tears.

Jarrod went back to the doorway and leaned against the frame. He wasn't going to be able to stay upright much longer. "Zeb, Barbara – " he said and got their attention. "The law needs to know Jenny was attacked and it was probably Keener who did it. They need to know the names of the four men we suspect of killing Keener – and Doc, I need to question those men. The law can't do it over the fence. I need them in a room with me, just us."

"Jarrod, you're in no shape," Dr. Soper said.

"I am if you bring them to me," Jarrod said. "I'll get back to bed. Get me some broth and a cup of coffee, then bring Hill and Deutsch and Morrow and – what's his name?"

"Shields," Barlow said.

"Bring them up to me," Jarrod said.

"Jarrod, you're not in any shape today," Dr. Soper protested. "This can wait until tomorrow."

Jarrod shook his head. "I wouldn't count on keeping the lid on this much longer. The deputy and the sheriff know about the murder. Nobody but us knows about Jenny being attacked, though, do they?"

Dr. Soper shook his head. "Only us."

Jarrod was beginning to sink. "They're bound to have heard Jenny screaming out in the yard. They're going to get nervous, whoever killed Keener. If they're feeling better, any one of them or more could make a run for it today or tonight."

Dr. Soper quickly came to Jarrod's side, Barlow right behind him. They got Jarrod back to bed.

But as soon as he was down, Jarrod said, "Get me some broth and coffee and those four men. Doc – tell the law and my brothers everything we know – what happened to Jenny, how we suspect Keener, the names of the men we think killed him and why – "

Dr. Soper looked up at Barlow. He needed the man's permission before he was going to say anything to anyone about Jenny being attacked. Barlow gave it, nodding.

"All right," Dr. Soper said. "I'll talk to the deputy."

"I'll get you some food, Jarrod," Barlow said, "and then I'll fetch those four men and bring them to you – but I want to be present when you talk to them."

"You're not in great shape yourself, Zeb," Dr. Soper said.

"He's right, Zeb, and there's something else," Jarrod said, closing his eyes. "I might end up talking to these men as their lawyer. I need to be alone with them."

Barlow understood the logic in that. "All right."

"Get me some food," Jarrod said, "and I'll hold up as long as I need to, too. But Zeb – "

Barlow said, "Yes, Jarrod?"

Jarrod opened his eyes and looked at him. "Jenny's going to have to tell us who it was who attacked her before we can blame Keener for it for sure. I can tell the men I talked to that we know everything, but if they don't confess, Jenny's going to have to talk before anybody goes to trial over this. Her testimony could make the difference for whoever killed Keener, if not between innocent and guilty, then between prison and hanging."

"Her attack is probably why she's having so much trouble recovering from the influenza," Dr. Soper said.

"And probably why she tried to run away," Jarrod said. "She'll need her mother to help her tell this story. Is Barbara up to it?"

"I think so," Barlow said.

Dr. Soper sighed. "But she's not ready to talk yet."

Jarrod nodded. "I know. It doesn't need to come today. It just needs to come before we can wrap this all up and know for sure what happened. But you can tell the deputy everything we suspect. They can at least be alert if any of the men tries to get away."

Jarrod closed his eyes again. He was worn out.

"All right," Dr. Soper said. "I'll go talk to the law. Jarrod, you rest a bit until they bring you some broth."

"And coffee," Jarrod said quietly.

"And coffee," Dr. Soper agreed.

Dr. Soper went back outside, finding the Barkley brothers and the deputy exactly where he had left them. But now they all looked alarmed. He realized they had heard Jenny screaming.

"What happened in there?" the deputy asked.

"Jenny panicked again," Dr. Soper said. "I have more to tell you, deputy, but you can't let this get very far, not yet. We expect that Keener was murdered for something he had done, to Jenny."

They all understood right away. The deputy was horrified. "You think Keener raped her?"

Dr. Soper nodded. "Somebody raped her, that's certain, and everything points to Keener."

"And somebody murdered him for it?" Heath asked.

"That's what your brother thinks, and maybe more than one somebody," Dr. Soper said. "Since I don't think any one sick man could have carried Keener's body into the tent, I think your brother's right. We have four men it could have been – Hill, Shields, Morrow and Deutsch."

"I asked if anybody saw anybody carrying Keener to the tent, but you can't see between the bunkhouse and the tent from out here. Do any of those men know what you suspect?" the deputy asked.

Dr. Soper shook his head. "But they might be getting nervous anyway, and Jarrod's gonna talk to them shortly. Deputy, don't let any of this get farther than the four of us and the sheriff, not yet. You can imagine, the Barlows are mortified and scared to death for their daughter. And Jenny is still very sick and very shell shocked by everything that's happened. The closer to the vest we can keep this, the better for her."

"What can we do?" Nick asked. "Does Jarrod need anything more from us?"

"Not just yet," Dr. Soper said, "but stick around if you can. After he talks to those men, he might need something from you."

Nick and Heath both nodded. "We're at your call too, Doc," Nick said.

Dr. Soper smiled a little. "I thank you. Maybe one day – a couple weeks from now – we'll look back on this and feel like we all did good work. I don't know."

Dr. Soper turned and headed back to the house. He was tired.

The deputy sighed. "We got a fire going back a ways. Why don't you two go get yourself some coffee? I'm gonna send somebody into town for the things Doc needs."

"You're doing a good job yourself here, deputy," Heath said. "And we don't even know your name."

The deputy chuckled. "Peter Jones. Nothing important."

"I wouldn't say that," Nick said.

Deputy Jones smiled and wandered back to his men at the gate. Nick and Heath looked at each other, then up to the house. "We better wire Mother again sometime today," Heath said. "I'm not sure what we oughtta say, but we better send her something."

Nick nodded. "After we hear what Jarrod comes up with when he talks with those men," Nick said. "If we can tell her he's investigating this murder good and hard, she'll be more convinced he's all right."

"You got a point there," Heath said. "I just hope he is all right."

Nick gave him a gentle slap on the back. "Have faith, Heath. If Pappy feels like he can question four men, he's all right."

Heath still looked a little dubious. "You know Jarrod. Do you think a case of influenza is gonna keep him out of something like this, or do you think he's gonna push his way through whether he feels up to it or not?"

Nick sighed. "Now you've got a point."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Jarrod got some food and some coffee into him, but he was still almost completely wiped out when Barlow brought the four men – Hill, Shields, Morrow and Deutsch – up to his room. Barlow still wished he could stay and hear this, but Jarrod sat up on the edge of his bed and looked up at him, a look that said he needed to leave.

Barlow pointed out who was who, and he said, "I expect you men to talk honestly with Mr. Barkley," he said. "I don't want to hear about any side-stepping or lying. I want you to give him the truth." And he left, closing the door quietly.

Jarrod was dizzy, but he stayed upright. The four men stood looking down at him. Jarrod said, "Here's the deal. We know Dave Keener didn't die of influenza. We know he died of rat poisoning, and we know one or more of you is responsible for it. You were the only ones healthy enough to have done it and gotten him to the tent where I found him with the others." Jarrod paused to get his breath. "We also know a whole lot more, but I want to hear it from whichever of you is involved. I also want you to know that I am a lawyer, and if the truth is what I think it is, you're going to need a lawyer."

The four men looked at each other. Hill said, "Why don't you tell us what you think the truth is?"

Jarrod shook his head. "I'm not gonna make up the story for you. You tell me the truth, and tell it to me now, because that deputy outside the gate knows what I'm thinking, and he's got all his men's eyes on all of you. Only the truth is going to help you out here, the truth and me. Just tell it to me, right now."

Jarrod didn't have strength or time to finesse this. He thought he could stay upright for a while, but ten minutes might be out of the question. He saw the four men looking at each other again, and keeping silent. He let them stew that way for a full minute.

"All right," he said then. "Get out of here. You'll all be going to jail as soon as this quarantine is lifted, and if you try to run you'll probably be shot." He started to lie back down again.

"Wait a minute," Shields said, and he looked at the others. Finally, he said, "It was my idea."

"What was?" Jarrod asked.

"Killing Keener. It was my idea."

"But we were all in on it with him," Hill said.

"Because of what he did to Jenny," Morrow said.

Jarrod felt relief wash over him. Now they were getting somewhere. "What did he do to Jenny?"

"He raped her," Morrow said. "A few nights ago, after we were quarantined. Practically all of us were up here in the house, sick as dogs, but Keener and me were still in the bunkhouse."

"And me," Shields said. "Morrow, he was pretty feverish. At first he thought he imagined what he saw, but I saw it clear as day."

"What did you see?" Jarrod asked.

"Jenny, she come down to bring me and Morrow and Keener some food," Shields said. "We was all sick, Keener not as much as me and Morrow. He probably thought he could get away with it because we wouldn't realize what he was doing."

"What was he doing?" Jarrod asked.

"He attacked Jenny," Morrow said. "She went to take him some food. He was on his bunk. He grabbed her and he pulled her down and she was screaming and he covered her mouth and he – " Morrow stopped. He couldn't say it.

"Keener just had his way with her," Shields said. "He laughed and he just out and out raped her."

They grew quiet before Hill said, "Me and Deutsch were over the influenza enough to come back to the bunkhouse the next day. Shields and Morrow told us what happened."

"Did you tell Mr. Barlow?" Jarrod asked.

Hill shook his head. "The boss was really sick then. We didn't think he was gonna make it."

Shields said, "And if he did, I was afraid of what the boss might do when he found out Keener had raped his daughter. I was really scared he was gonna kill the man. I didn't want the boss's family to have to go through that. I was the one who was well enough to start handling it, so I did."

"We all took things into our own hands," Deutsch said quickly.

"But I started it," Shields said. "I put rat poison in his coffee, all day long that second day and then the next morning. He was still sick enough he didn't notice the taste. Took him that long to die."

Morrow said, "But we all four carried him to the tent. We thought it would just look like the influenza got him."

"He was filth!" Shields blurted out. "He tried to rape a couple saloon girls in town but couldn't do it, so he took it out on the boss's daughter! The boss's daughter!"

"Maybe we were all really too sick to think straight, Mr. Barkley," Hill said, "but if I had to do it again, I'd do it again. Keener's destroyed that sweet girl. We heard her screaming all night, all the way down in the bunkhouse. Keener destroyed her and he deserved what we did to him."

"Is that what you thought happened?" Morrow asked.

Jarrod nodded. "Yes, that's exactly it."

"If you're looking for me to feel bad about what I did," Shields said, "I don't. If that means you can't be my lawyer, well, I'll just have to deal with that myself."

Jarrod shook his head. "It doesn't mean I can't be your lawyer. I can't condone what you did, but I can defend it. But you boys are gonna have to give yourselves up when this quarantine is lifted. I'll do everything I can for you, even you, Shields – and frankly, you have as strong a case as I've ever handled before when you actually did the killing. I don't know if I can get you off completely, but I think I can minimize the time you'll have to do." Jarrod sighed. "I just need to get over this influenza first, and you boys aren't going anywhere before I do anyway."

"Jenny's a sweet girl," Shields said. "She was just trying to help Keener, and he – " He couldn't say anymore.

"I understand," Jarrod said. "You boys go back to work, if you're up to it. When I'm doing better, we'll talk about this some more."

The men looked at each other again. Shields said, "I got nothing to hide anymore. I'm not sorry for what I did."

"Still, we need to talk again and put our plans together before you confess to anything," Jarrod said, and he lay back down and said, "and I'm just too sick to do it right now."

"Anything we can do for you, Mr. Barkley?" Hill asked.

Jarrod smiled. "You've already done it. Go back to work. We'll talk again tomorrow. I'll get you through this, I promise."

To a man, they believed him. "You get better, Mr. Barkley," Hill said and the men left.

Jarrod closed his eyes, saying, "I will."

As soon as the men went out, Dr. Soper came back in. Barlow was with him. Jarrod heard them, looked up, and shook his head. "I can't tell you anything about what they said. I'm gonna represent all of them."

That told the two men enough.

Dr. Soper took his stethoscope out and checked Jarrod's heart and breathing. "Any more of this and you're gonna kill yourself," he said.

"Pneumonia?" Jarrod asked.

"Not yet," Dr. Soper said.

"Then relax," Jarrod said. "I'll be fine. I'll just feel like garbage for a while."

"I don't know what's going on, not completely," Barlow said, "and I don't need to. But I know I need to thank you, Jarrod."

"Thank me when this is all over, Zeb," Jarrod said. "And Doctor, I need you to ask my brothers to do something for me."

XXXXXXXX

Dr. Soper came out to the fence about an hour later, after talking with Jarrod and Barlow, after seeing Jenny through another panic attack. Nick, Heath and Deputy Jones saw him coming, and they moved over to the more private spot where they had been talking earlier.

Dr. Soper simply said, "Your brother talked to the men, and Jarrod says to tell you he's representing them and will want to talk to them more before anything else happens. He cited attorney-client privilege."

Nick and Heath smiled. They knew well what that meant. Jarrod had gotten them to talk, and they had told him enough that they were going to be charged for something in this, probably Keener's murder.

"Any idea when he's gonna be able to talk?" Deputy Jones asked.

Dr. Soper said, "Not today, maybe not tomorrow. Mr. Barkley needs to concentrate on getting well now. I'm not gonna let him have any more visitors and I'll sedate the hell out of him if he doesn't sleep for the rest of this day."

Nick and Heath smiled more. "Is there anything he needs us to do?" Nick asked.

"Wire your mother, he said," Dr. Soper said. "Keep her from coming down here. And wire the court in Stockton. Tell them he's laid up in this influenza quarantine and needs a postponement of this trial he has coming up. And he also said you should take it easy and don't catch the influenza."

"Reckon we can go back to town and do all that," Heath said.

Nick said, "You'll let us know if he needs anything more."

Dr. Soper nodded.

"And if you do," Heath said.

Dr. Soper nodded again. "I think we're all right here for the duration. And I think I'm gonna go take a nap."

Dr. Soper turned and went back into the house. Deputy Jones said, "There goes one workhorse of a man. Every person in that house is lucky to have him."

"Alto's lucky to have him," Nick said, "and so is Brother Jarrod."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Nick and Heath went back to town and straight to the telegraph office, where before they could wire Stockton, they found a telegram waiting for them. Nick read it and sighed. "It's from Mother. She and Audra will be down here on the late train tomorrow night if we don't give her some better answers about Jarrod."

"I suppose we should have suspected that," Heath said. "What do you think we ought to tell her to keep her away? There's really not much more we can say."

"We can tell her that Jarrod's solved his murder case and is resting comfortably," Nick said. "She won't be allowed to see him for at least a week. Maybe that will delay her a bit longer, anyway."

"Maybe we better add one thing," Heath said. "If Jarrod wakes up feeling better tomorrow, he's likely to chase you and me home. We better tell her that so we don't end up at home while she ends up down here."

"Good idea," Nick said. "You write out the telegram to Mother. I'll write out the one to the court."

After they sent the wires off, Nick and Heath found the sheriff and filled him in on what had happened out at the Barlow ranch. Then they got a bite to eat at the saloon and settled in with a card game. At the end of the day, after some more food and gaining a little money, they decided to go back out to the Barlow place.

Deputy Jones was just about to come back to town when Nick and Heath arrived. The sun was starting to set. It would be dark in another hour.

"Quiet out here?" Nick asked as he and Heath rode up and dismounted.

"The men in there are starting to feel better," the deputy said. "They've been working around the yard a lot."

"Any word on our brother?" Heath asked.

"Dr. Soper came out a couple hours ago. Your brother is sleeping, without him having to sedate him. It's been quiet up there, so I think that and getting this murder solved is helping him – "

No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the screaming from inside the house started up again. Jenny.

She was wailing and crying, and her mother was holding her and rocking her. The doctor and her father were with them, and Jenny was wide awake now. Wide awake, free of fever, and terrified.

"It's all right, it's all right," her mother kept saying to her.

Jarrod appeared in his robe in the doorway, leaning against the frame, looking like death warmed over. Nobody noticed he was up.

"He – he – oh, Mother, Dave Keener, he – " Jenny couldn't say the words without falling into sobs.

"It's all right, sweetheart," Barlow said, sitting on the bed with his wife and daughter. "Keener can't hurt you anymore. He died."

Barlow looked solidly at his wife and then Dr. Soper. That was all he intended to say to his daughter right now. The fact that Keener was murdered could wait until later.

"He's dead?" Jenny asked.

"He's dead," Barlow said.

Jenny dissolved into tears, and her mother did as well. Barlow sat there with them, touching their arms, and beginning to cry as well. That was when Dr. Soper noticed Jarrod in the doorway. "You," he said quietly, facing his last patient. "You get back to bed, right now."

"Her fever broke?" Jarrod asked.

"About an hour ago," Dr. Soper said.

Jarrod turned and went back to bed. But as he lay down, it was with an increased sense of peace. Getting the truth about the murder out from the four ranch hands had eased his soul quite a bit, but now, knowing Jenny was no longer in a fever, knowing she understood that Keener was not going to hurt her anymore, settled Jarrod's heart even more. He couldn't help smiling as he fell back to sleep.

When he woke up in the morning, he still felt like garbage but not as much garbage as he had the previous morning. He was coughing now uncomfortably, but Dr. Soper said his lungs were still clear and it was just the influenza getting out of him that was causing the cough. Some broth and some coffee, and Jarrod noticed his throat was no longer sore. _Now we're getting somewhere_, he thought. "Are my brothers here?" he asked the doctor.

"I'll have to go check," Dr. Soper said. "Do you have a message for them?"

"Am I on the mend? My throat doesn't hurt anymore."

"That's a good sign. Your fever's still there, but not as high. I think you are on the mend."

"Then tell them to go home," Jarrod said. "Tell them I'll be here taking care of my new clients as soon as this quarantine is lifted and I don't need them to hang around. Tell them I'll telegraph as soon as I can get out of here."

"Do you think they'll leave?"

"Yes, because knowing my mother, she's threatening to come down here now. If they go home, she'll stay home, and they'll go home if they think I'm getting better."

Dr. Soper chuckled. "That's some family you've got there, to drop everything to come to you when they can't even see you."

"Yes, it is some family," Jarrod said. "Both a blessing and a curse – but more the blessing. Tell them I said thanks for all the help, too, would you?"

Dr. Soper found the Barkley brothers back out at the gate when he went outside. He made sure he was smiling when he saw them, and before they could speak, he said, "Your brother wants you to go home and make sure your mother stays there."

Nick and Heath grinned to know they had made an accurate call the night before. "He's doing better?" Nick asked.

Dr. Soper nodded. "Fever's down, sore throat's gone, he's got a bit of a cough but that's normal. There's still no sign of pneumonia. I think he'll be fine in a few more days."

"And the girl?" Heath asked. "We heard the ruckus last night and wondered what was happening."

"I'm sorry I didn't get back to you - I was too busy. Awake and free of fever since last night," Dr. Soper said. "This will clear up entirely in a few days. Your brother said to tell you'd he'd be here with his new clients for a while. He said to thank you for all the help, and he'd wire you as soon as he's out of quarantine."

Nick gave a sigh. "Then I guess we'll be going. Doc, I'd shake your hand but they won't let me."

"No need," Dr. Soper said. "I'm just glad everything is working out."

"If you want to take a long vacation when this is over, the Barkley family has a nice lodge in the mountains where the fishing is good."

"We'd be glad to keep you company," Heath said.

Dr. Soper perked up. "Now that sounds like something I might take you up on."

"Uh, just one more thing," Nick said, and he suddenly let fly with as loud a bellow as he'd ever released. "Jarrod! We'll see you back at the ranch!"

Upstairs in the house, Jarrod heard him perfectly clearly and laughed to himself. That Nick bellow never sounded so sweet.

"See you there, Brother Nick," Jarrod said quietly, and then he went back to sleep.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Epilogue

Jarrod was the last to recover, but his fever broke and he was well enough that they lifted the quarantine a few days after he talked to the men responsible for Keener's death. He stayed at the ranch a while longer, though, and talked to his clients again. They were scared, of course, and he tried to settle them down. He convinced them that their best and cleanest course of action was to surrender, confess everything, and let him defend them in court.

It was Barlow who made the difference. The men gave Jarrod permission to talk frankly to him, and he told Barlow why they did what they had done. Barlow immediately sought them out in the bunkhouse. "I will stick by you," he said. "I understand why you did what you did, and you may be right. I might have gone off the deep end and killed Keener myself. I should never have hired the man in the first place. If I'd known - " He got stuck on the words and just finished up. "You saved me from myself. I won't forget that."

Jarrod felt even more compassion for his clients. "We need to go to the sheriff and you need to confess," he told them, "but Mr. Barlow and I will be beside you all the way."

Jarrod and Barlow took the men into Alto themselves. They surrendered. They confessed everything just as they had confessed it to Jarrod. Dr. Soper confirmed that Jenny had been raped, and he confirmed that Keener had been poisoned with rat poison.

"Why didn't you just shoot him?" the sheriff asked.

Shields said, "Too much noise, too much law just outside the gate. I thought I could just do this and get everyone to think he had died of the influenza." He looked contrite, but then he also looked like he'd have done it again.

"We know we tried to hide it all," Hill said. "We know we did wrong in the whole thing, but we just didn't feel like we had any choice."

The sheriff arrested them and jailed them. The whole matter was put in front of the district attorney from Modesto, who immediately went for indictments that surprised everyone. On Shields, he recommended and got an indictment for first degree murder, but on the others he only recommended and got charges of accessories after the fact, since Shields had done the poisoning and the others had only helped him cover it up. The other men actually felt bad about that, but Shields smiled and said, "It's fitting. It's all right."

Jarrod immediately said, "We're going to work on this. We'll fight. We're let the jury decide what the justice is."

Behind the scenes, away from the men and from Barlow, the district attorney quietly said to Jarrod, "I hated to have to go for first degree murder, but given the way Shields killed Keener and the cover-up, I had no choice."

"I know," Jarrod said. "Now, how about we talk about some plea bargains, at least for everybody but Shields?"

"For the other men, sure, but I can't let Shields off the hook. Only a jury can do that."

Jarrod understood. The district attorney was very cooperative on the other men. They actually settled on a 60-day sentence in the county jail for them, which they accepted. Barlow told them right away, "There's a job for you when you get out, if you're interested." They all were.

Then Shields came to trial. He was scared to the point of trembling when the trial started, but Jarrod stayed with him and Barlow was right behind them in the gallery. The trial was held in Alto. The jury was chosen, the case was well tried by both Jarrod and the district attorney. Both Jarrod and the district attorney decided not to ask Jenny to testify – she was still suffering from what had happened to her.

Dr. Soper explained both Jenny's injuries and Keener's poisoning. Shields explained everything he was involved with – seeing Keener rape Jenny, planning and carrying out his execution of the man rather than see Barlow explode in revenge and ruin his family. He took complete responsibility, but he refused to have or show any remorse. Jarrod had to make that come out the best he could.

What sealed the question was when Barlow testified. He said Shields was right, he might well have killed Keener himself for what he'd done to Jenny. He explained how difficult it was for Jenny, who was still recovering from the trauma. He explained the stress of the influenza epidemic going on at the time. He actually begged the jury to go easy on Shields. "He's saved me and my family," Barlow said. "Please understand that. He saved us."

Jarrod's closing argument was as genuinely passionate as any argument he had ever given. "This was a tragedy brought about by the actions of a man who raped a defenseless girl who was only trying to help him. The tragedy should end right here." He pleaded for Shields to be acquitted, although he knew full well acquittal was unlikely. He was begging for as much leniency as he could get for his client.

The jury deliberated for several hours and came back with a verdict of just plain homicide in the lowest degree possible. They recommended leniency in sentencing, as Jarrod had asked.

The judge had Shields stand, and Jarrod and Barlow both stood up with him. The judge said, "The defense has described this incident as a tragedy, and it appears the jury agrees. And so do I."

The judge sentenced Shields to a year in prison at San Quentin, then immediately suspended six months of it and ordered the incarceration to be at the county jail in Modesto. Shields practically fell down into his chair in relief.

"There's a job for you when you get out," Barlow told him.

Shields nodded his thanks, and shook his lawyer's hand.

And it was done. Jarrod bid his clients and the Barlow family good-bye, and after weeks of time spent in Alto and at the Barlow ranch, Jarrod headed home.

As soon as he came in the door, his mother and sister rushed into his arms. "Oh, Jarrod!" Victoria said.

They had wanted to come down to Alto as soon as Jarrod was out of quarantine and stay for the trial, but in an exchange of many telegrams, he talked them out of it, telling them he needed to concentrate on his clients. Now, as his mother and sister hugged him and he got slaps on the back and handshakes from his brothers, he explained the verdict and said, "It was a good one. It was a just one."

They took him to his thinking chair and sat him down. "And you're all healed up now?" Audra said.

"Completely," Jarrod said. "I have been for some time. Thank you for letting me be gone for so long. I really had to concentrate on this case, but it was worth it."

"And I was right again," Nick said with a grin.

Jarrod looked suspiciously at him. "_You_ were right? About what?"

"About you getting in trouble again out on your own," Nick said.

"Oh, come on, Nick," Jarrod said. "I was where the good Lord intended me to be and I was never in trouble myself."

"You caught influenza," Victoria reminded him.

"A minor inconvenience," Jarrod said. "I'm not sorry about what happened to me. I'm sorry for Jenny Barlow and her parents and Shields and the other men involved, but for me? No. This case is a good example of why I wanted to be a lawyer. Why I'll always want to be a lawyer. BUT – Nick, Heath, I need to tell you. Dr. Soper in Alto mentioned something to me about a deal he made with you."

They looked curious.

"As soon as I'm through with this trial coming up here," Jarrod said, "Dr. Soper is coming fishing with me and my two brothers here, up at the lodge."

Nick and Heath remembered. "That deserves a toast," Nick said, and fetched Jarrod a glass of scotch.

Jarrod took it, and offered the toast. "To Dr. Soper, and to my family – to my brothers who helped me out in Alto, to my dear mother and sister who kept the home fires burning for me. And to justice."

The End


End file.
